They’re calling it a record-breaker, but for seasoned Arabian Travel Market (ATM) attendees, it’s more like a homecoming, minus the questionable canapés and with considerably better air conditioning.
From 28 April to 1 May 2025, Dubai World Trade Centre will again transform into the industry’s most ambitious crossroads as ATM celebrates its 32nd edition, this time under the theme: “Global Travel: Developing Tomorrow’s Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity.”
That’s a mouthful. But if there’s one city that knows a thing or two about saying a lot and delivering more, it’s Dubai.
A Gathering the Size of a Small Nation
With 55,000 attendees expected from 161 countries and 2,800 exhibitors competing for space across 14 halls (up 12% from last year), ATM 2025 is no ordinary industry conference. It’s part travel trade, part theatre — and for many, a four-day exercise in business card origami.
The show’s theme leans into connectivity, and not just the hotel lobby Wi-Fi kind. We’re talking deep, global links: economic, digital, cultural — and occasionally spiritual, for those who’ve had to survive a 3 am red-eye followed by a keynote breakfast.
Dubai: The Host With the Most
Dubai’s tourism top brass, including His Excellency Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, isn’t shy about what’s at stake.
Tourism’s sharpest minds gather at ATM 2025 Press Conference
“ATM underscores Dubai’s ambition to be a global nexus for both business and leisure,” he said, pausing only briefly for breath. “This year’s theme mirrors our vision — physical, digital and human connections, all wrapped in a strategy that’s as ambitious as it is achievable.”
Translation? Dubai’s still aiming for the stars, but now it’s doing it sustainably — or at least with more LED lighting.
Dubai will bring 125 stakeholders to the show floor, along with a Hosted Buyers Programme that sounds suspiciously like speed dating for tourism moguls: over 300 buyers from 39 countries, all seeking their next perfect match.
Who’s Who on the Tarmac
ATM’s long-time partners are rolling out their finest, led by Emirates, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Al Rais Travel. If this were a red carpet event, Emirates would be the impeccably dressed lead actor, IHG the polished hotelier with five brands on speed dial, and Al Rais the savvy local fixer who knows where the good shawarma is.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and CCO, was refreshingly to the point:
“The theme resonates. Our business has momentum, and ATM is a key part of our strategy to keep it going.”
Meanwhile, IHG’s Haitham Mattar was more philosophical, noting that connectivity isn’t just about aircraft and algorithms:
“It’s about human experiences — those intangible moments that define memorable travel.”
He’s right, of course. Try forgetting the time you accidentally ordered camel stew instead of hummus. Memorable, indeed.
New Tricks and New Tech
Among this year’s new highlights is IBTM@ATM, a dedicated business events zone where suit-and-tie operators mingle with global buyers in tightly scheduled meetings that make your dentist look spontaneous.
Also new is the Business Events Stage, where ideas will be floated, buzzwords unleashed, and possibly one or two revolutions quietly born.
ATM Travel Tech has ballooned by 26% in exhibitors, with a new Start-Up and Innovation Zone promising a dazzling mix of AI wizardry, VR escapism, and the odd pitch from someone with a suitcase full of wearable translation devices.
The tech zone will host immersive experiences, though seasoned attendees know the real immersion is queuing behind a delegate from Oslo trying to scan their badge upside down.
All the World’s a Stage (Well, Three of Them)
Content this year is spread across three platforms:
- Global Stage – For the big-picture stuff: aviation, climate action, and probably a few metaphors involving flight paths.
- Future Stage – Less crystal ball, more cutting-edge tech, AI adoption and the digitally disrupted traveller.
- Business Events Stage – The brass tacks of MICE, with a side of matchmaking.
Over 200 speakers and 70+ sessions will unfold — so if you’ve got a lanyard and a willingness to nod thoughtfully, there’s something for you.
Who’s Growing and Where?
Asia is leading the exhibitor surge with a projected 20% year-on-year growth, led by India, which has long been a market with more outbound travellers than available window seats.
The Middle East is flexing too, up 15%, while Europe and Africa are each up more than 12%. Someone’s been reading the memos about revenge travel.
And amid all this expansion, the quiet truth? The world missed gathering like this. While virtual summits kept the lights on, nothing beats the real deal — the handshakes, the late-night debates, the post-panel espresso lines.
The Travel Industry, Reconnected
Mohamed Al Rais of Al Rais Travel summed up the zeitgeist:
“At ATM 2025, we’re not just enabling travel. We’re building bridges — not just over oceans, but between people, ideas and futures.”
He also mentioned shawarma. Probably.
Jonathan Heastie of RX Global added:
“We’re thrilled. There’s a momentum to this year’s event — a sense that the next chapter in travel isn’t being written in isolation, but collaboratively, across continents.”
Spoken like a man who’s seen one too many QR-coded lanyards — and lived to tell the tale.
Final Boarding Call
So, what’s the takeaway? ATM 2025 isn’t just a trade event. It’s a reset button. A global gathering that’s part high-stakes business, part cultural jamboree — and 100% an invitation to get back out there.
It’s a nod to the past, a tilt at the future, and a polite reminder that while technology may run the systems, it’s still people who drive the journey.
And for those people — all 55,000 of them — Dubai’s ATM 2025 is where the world’s travel ambitions come to meet, mingle, and maybe, if the networking gods allow, sign a deal over mezze.
For more information, visit Arabian Travel Market.
By Stephen Morton
